Kazimierz Puzak
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Pużak was a Polish
politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party
, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State
and Polish resistance
, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamous Trial of the Sixteen
in 1945.
origins in Ternopil
, he studied law in Lviv University
but dropped his studies to became a full time political activist. He joined the Polish Socialist Party
around 1904 and was the cofounder, together with Józef Piłsudski, of Polish Socialist Party - Revolutionary Faction (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Frakcja Rewolucyjna) in 1905.
A member of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party
, in 1909 together with Henryk Minkiewicz
he participated in the assassination
of a provocateur and police agent Edmund Taranowicz. In 1911 arrested by the Russian Empire
government for activism in the Polish revolutionary and pro-independence movement, he was sentenced to 8 years of katorga
and exile in Siberia afterwards. For a time he was imprisoned in Shlisselburg
fortress. He was released during the Russian Revolution of 1917
, in which he briefly participated.
Pużak returned to activism in the PPS after 1918, becoming one of its leading activists. From 1921 to 1939 he was the Secretary General of the Central Executive Committee of PPS. He served as one of the secretaries in the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski
and became known - despite his socialist background - as a relative conservative, opposing some of most radical demands of the workers (supported by the communists). He opposed the escalation of the Polish-Soviet War
, and supported the Silesian Uprisings
. Elected as a deputy to Sejm
(Polish parliament) in all elections from 1919 to 1935, first from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie region, later from Częstochowa
, he often negotiated with the workers in those regions and supported their strike
s.
Participated in underground Polish political life in occupied Poland during World War II
. In 1939 Pużak became one of the founders of the underground Polish Socialist Party
(Polska Partia Socjalistyczna), the PPS-WRN (Polish Socialist Party - Liberty Equality Independence or Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość). He was commander-in-chief of Gwardia Ludowa WRN
(People's Guard WRN) which was the military organization of the PPS. He was PPS representative in the underground Main Political Council (Główna Rada Polityczna). Since 1940 he was a member of the Political Cooperation Committee (Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy) at Association of Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej, ZWZ). Head of the Council of National Unity
(Rada Jedności Narodowej) since 1944. He played a decisive role in formulating the programmatic declaration "What the Polish nation is fighting for?", strongly opposing any cooperation with the communists. In May 1944 nominated for vice-president, but he declined, refusing to leave Poland.
During the Warsaw Uprising
(August 1–October 1, 1944) - which he criticized before it was started - Pużak was in Warsaw
. After the capitulation of the capital, he left the city together with the civil population and continued his underground activities.
After the Soviet forces drove the Germans from Polish territories, NKVD
general Ivan Sierov invited Polish underground leaders for negotiations to discuss the aftermath of the Yalta Agreement. Pużak suspected deceit but nonetheless decided to attend to show the willingness of the resistance to work within the Yalta framework. He was promptly arrested by the Soviets, together with fifteen other Polish leaders. In the Trial of the Sixteen
, which took place in Moscow
in 1945, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Released in November 1945 after an amnesty, he refused to emigrate and instead elected to stay in Poland and continue his activity in the anti-communist opposition. During that time, he wrote his memoirs (Wspomnienia 1939-1945, published in Paris in 1977). Pużak was again arrested by the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa in 1947 and 1948. After another show trial
against leaders of the PPS-WRN he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was later reduced to 5 years imprisonment. Pużak died in prison in Rawicz
on April 30, 1950, and was secretly buried in Powązki Cemetery
.
During World War II, he was awarded with Virtuti Militari
(V class) and posthumously with the Armia Krajowa Cross
by the Polish government in exile
. In post-communist
Poland in 1996, he was posthumously decorated with the Order of the White Eagle.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State
Polish Secret State
The Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...
and Polish resistance
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamous Trial of the Sixteen
Trial of the Sixteen
The Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
in 1945.
Biography
Born on 26 August 1883 in a family of UkrainianUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
origins in Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
, he studied law in Lviv University
Lviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
but dropped his studies to became a full time political activist. He joined the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
around 1904 and was the cofounder, together with Józef Piłsudski, of Polish Socialist Party - Revolutionary Faction (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Frakcja Rewolucyjna) in 1905.
A member of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party
Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party
The Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party , also translated as Fighting Organization of the Polish Socialist Party; also known as bojówki ; Organizacja Spiskowo-Bojowa PPS ; Koła Bojowe Samoobrony Robotniczej and Koła Techniczno-Bojowe The Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist...
, in 1909 together with Henryk Minkiewicz
Henryk Minkiewicz
Henryk Minkiewicz was a Polish socialist politician and a General of the Polish Army. Former commander of the Border Defence Corps, he was among the Polish officers murdered in the Katyń massacre.-Early life:...
he participated in the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of a provocateur and police agent Edmund Taranowicz. In 1911 arrested by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
government for activism in the Polish revolutionary and pro-independence movement, he was sentenced to 8 years of katorga
Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude of the prison farm type in Tsarist Russia...
and exile in Siberia afterwards. For a time he was imprisoned in Shlisselburg
Shlisselburg
Shlisselburg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated at the head of the Neva River on Lake Ladoga, east of St. Petersburg. From 1944 to 1992, it was known as Petrokrepost...
fortress. He was released during the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, in which he briefly participated.
Pużak returned to activism in the PPS after 1918, becoming one of its leading activists. From 1921 to 1939 he was the Secretary General of the Central Executive Committee of PPS. He served as one of the secretaries in the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski
Jedrzej Moraczewski
Jędrzej Moraczewski was a Polish socialist politician who served as first Prime Minister of Poland , from November 1918 to January 1919....
and became known - despite his socialist background - as a relative conservative, opposing some of most radical demands of the workers (supported by the communists). He opposed the escalation of the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
, and supported the Silesian Uprisings
Silesian Uprisings
The Silesian Uprisings were a series of three armed uprisings of the Poles and Polish Silesians of Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against German rule; the resistance hoped to break away from Germany in order to join the Second Polish Republic, which had been established in the wake of World War I...
. Elected as a deputy to Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
(Polish parliament) in all elections from 1919 to 1935, first from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie region, later from Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
, he often negotiated with the workers in those regions and supported their strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1939 Pużak became one of the founders of the underground Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
(Polska Partia Socjalistyczna), the PPS-WRN (Polish Socialist Party - Liberty Equality Independence or Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość). He was commander-in-chief of Gwardia Ludowa WRN
Gwardia Ludowa WRN
Gwardia Ludowa WRN was a part of the Polish resistance movement in World War II. Created in 1939 by Polish Socialist Party - WRN faction, since 1940 it was subordinated to ZWZ with a degree of autonomy. In 1944 it numbered about 42,000 people...
(People's Guard WRN) which was the military organization of the PPS. He was PPS representative in the underground Main Political Council (Główna Rada Polityczna). Since 1940 he was a member of the Political Cooperation Committee (Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy) at Association of Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej, ZWZ). Head of the Council of National Unity
Council of National Unity
Rada Jedności Narodowej was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II...
(Rada Jedności Narodowej) since 1944. He played a decisive role in formulating the programmatic declaration "What the Polish nation is fighting for?", strongly opposing any cooperation with the communists. In May 1944 nominated for vice-president, but he declined, refusing to leave Poland.
During the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
(August 1–October 1, 1944) - which he criticized before it was started - Pużak was in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. After the capitulation of the capital, he left the city together with the civil population and continued his underground activities.
After the Soviet forces drove the Germans from Polish territories, NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
general Ivan Sierov invited Polish underground leaders for negotiations to discuss the aftermath of the Yalta Agreement. Pużak suspected deceit but nonetheless decided to attend to show the willingness of the resistance to work within the Yalta framework. He was promptly arrested by the Soviets, together with fifteen other Polish leaders. In the Trial of the Sixteen
Trial of the Sixteen
The Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
, which took place in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1945, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Released in November 1945 after an amnesty, he refused to emigrate and instead elected to stay in Poland and continue his activity in the anti-communist opposition. During that time, he wrote his memoirs (Wspomnienia 1939-1945, published in Paris in 1977). Pużak was again arrested by the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa in 1947 and 1948. After another show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
against leaders of the PPS-WRN he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was later reduced to 5 years imprisonment. Pużak died in prison in Rawicz
Rawicz
Rawicz is a town in central Poland with 21,398 inhabitants . It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship ; previously it was in Leszno Voivodeship . It is the capital of Rawicz County.-History:...
on April 30, 1950, and was secretly buried in Powązki Cemetery
Powazki Cemetery
Powązki Cemetery , also known as the Stare Powązki is a historic cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city, and one of the oldest...
.
During World War II, he was awarded with Virtuti Militari
Virtuti Militari
The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
(V class) and posthumously with the Armia Krajowa Cross
Armia Krajowa Cross
Armia Krajowa Cross is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and 1945...
by the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
. In post-communist
Post-Communism
Post-communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic transformation or "transition" in former Communist states located in parts of Europe and Asia, in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economies with some form of parliamentary...
Poland in 1996, he was posthumously decorated with the Order of the White Eagle.